EU & UK: Reduced crop forecast adding pressure to global barley supplies

From an overall production perspective, the EU27+UK crop is 3 mln tonnes lower than crop 2020, currently forecast at 60.7 mln tonnes, RMI Analytics said in their latest report earlier in September.

The reduced crop forecast is adding to the global tightness for barley supply generally and malting barley specifically.

Domestic demand and exports are expected to remain strong due to rebounding economies and continued Chinese demand for malting barley.

Crop 2021 harvest advanced towards completion with some interruptions due to wet conditions, and noteworthy in Central Europe, where heavier rain fell over the past two weeks. Quality implications are expected as a result and this will require the industry to work on determining the final quality outcome. However, it is certain that the Central Europe area will be tight on the supply of quality malting barley.

The UK crop is estimated at 7.35 mln tonnes and Denmark at 3.85 mln tonnes, with average to slightly better selection rates for malting barley expected. This result helps balance Europe�s overall malting barley situation. Germany remains a concerna as the spring barley crop disappointed and increased imports are required.